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Choosing Academic Library Leaders in the Age of AI

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As AI transforms libraries, so must the process by which search committees choose library leaders. So—what should we be asking in job interviews?

The UN’s 2025 Global Survey on AI and Human Development revealed that 20 percent of respondents already use AI. Two thirds expect to use it within a year in education, healthcare, or work. As the technology becomes a fact of daily life for growing numbers of people, academic libraries are at a crossroads, grappling with how best to plan for a future that is transforming as quickly and comprehensively as AI technology advances, prompting deep questions about how librarians think about their work and identity.

For those of us involved in search and hiring processes for library leaders, this means identifying candidates who are prepared to navigate a new era. And for prospective leaders, it means communicating to search committees and hiring officers how they can help libraries and institutions move into uncharted territory.

In this article, I’ll explore how the interview process might evolve to meet this changing reality.

A Strategic Perspective

The process for identifying new leaders of academic libraries has always been complex, with first-round interviews attempting to gauge a candidate’s interest level as well as their capacity to move the library and campus forward. Generally, search committees from all manner of institution are looking for empathetic connectors of people who can also effectively manage units of all sizes with significant budgets, fundraise in myriad ways, work productively across the institution, and deal with unexpected local and global crises. Mix in educational requirements, among other desired characteristics and qualifications, and committees and candidates are often burdened with a sprawling list of multipart questions for an intense 60- to 90-minute “conversation.”

As academic libraries grapple with AI, the ground beneath this already challenging process is shifting.

 

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“The technology isn’t there yet to trust it completely, but I’m providing support and infrastructure for employees to learn and engage with it.”

— Leo Lo,  university librarian and dean of libraries at the University of Virginia

 

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In 2018, Karim Boughida, now dean of university libraries at Stony Brook University, led the establishment of the first multidisciplinary artificial intelligence lab within an academic library, at the University of Rhode Island, where he was then dean. He sees AI’s impact in a number of dimensions of library work: “technical services, cataloging, metadata, acquisitions, procurement,” areas, he told me, that have “an incredible need for detail-oriented work.”

“Those can be streamlined with AI to have better outcomes,” he said.

For Leo Lo, the new university librarian and dean of libraries at the University of Virginia, now is the moment to ensure the library workforce becomes AI literate.

For a deeper dive into Matthew’s findings, read the full article at Katina Magazine.

 

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October 17, 2025

 

Contributed by Matthew Bunting, Managing Director, Education Practice – DSG Global. Originally published by Katina Magazine.